Resting the mind is not easy
it dances like a sparrow
and speaks like a babbler
seeking the minutest grain
from the jungle of weeds
tweeting what it has to say
from one perch to the other
in all weather.

Then the aching wings falling slow
by the cold north wind
find no worth in the haste
seek a rest
perching upon some heart.

When unbroken silence is all it has
the mind rests easy in peace.

Right from my fingertips
into your smiling face

the red paper heart
oozing thick black blood
drops onto the ground, thud

little creatures of shards of red form
Searching for
other hearts broken
like their own

I unfolded a melody
tears swam in the margins

candles of war, unrequited love, and poetry
winked at me
from the ink

H-o-p-e
spelled out
penciled in
the faded ink, deckled edges, tiny wooden flecks
marginalized, coated on paper

of the book
I hold, now close